Apparatus for cooijng bakery



Feb. 6, 1940. J, K, NATTSON 2,188,955

APPARATUS FOR COOLING BAKERY PRODUCTS Filed June 15, 1936 INVENTOR dZA/A y KMWzsa/V BY Z ' ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 6, 1940 'APPARATUS'FOR COOLING BAKERY The invention relates in general to; a process for cooling bakery products and, in'particular, to a'p'r'ocess for cooling sponge, angel and like'cakes and t'o' correlated improvements in means for car-- ryingou't the process. v :Heretofore it has been the general practice in baking cakes, breadand the liketo deposit the baked producton a surface, such as a grill or the like, shortly after withdrawing the baked product from the oven and then cooling the product under atmospheric or otherconditions. The weight of the upper portion of the cake'or bread isexerted on' thelower portion and due to the plastic or" fragile nature of the product before beingcooled the undesirable-result is obtained wherebythe texture of-theproduct is greatly impaired. The

, walls forming the cell structure are compressed resultingin a doughy product and in many cases these walls collapse thus causing crumbling.

The general object of'the invention is to provide a process which not only preserves but great- 1y enhances the texture of sponge, angel and like cakes.v i 1 A specific object of the invention is to provide a process which increases the lightness and fiufilness of sponge, angel and like cakes.

Another object. of the invention is to provide a process which will tend to prevent a bakery product from falling during cooling. l

A further object of the invention is tov provide a process of cooling a bakery product whereby the cell structure of the product is not injured.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for'carrying out the process of cooling sponge, angel and like cakes and bakery products.

Other objects of the invention will-in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

According to the invention the process .com-

prises cooling a bakery product while the product is freely suspended from the interior sur faces of the container in which the product was baked. The invention also comprises novel means for carryingoutthe cooling process.

- The invention accordingly comprises the sever-'- al steps and relation of one or more of such steps withrespectto each of the others, and the apparatus embodying features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which are adapted to effect such steps, all as exemplified in the following detailed'disclosure, and I the scope of the invention will beindicated in the claims. I

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should be had to the following detailed description taken'in-con- PRODUCTS I Jenny :K r Nattso'n, ArlingtomfMass. A I

I ApplicationrJune 15, 195:6, Sean No. 85,257 A f 31Claims. (or; 65-1 y I nection with the accompanying drawingyin which I Fig. 1 shows an exploded view, in cross-section, of a cake cooler of the invention;

is .now inverted andmaintained inthis position during the cooling operation. 'JDuring such cooling the product freelyhangs fromthe inner sur- 'pletion of the baking operation and the product I faces of the container, the'container being maintained in a substantially vertical position. The

forces ofgravity are, of course,;exerted down.-

wardlywwithin the product and theseforces tend to expand the minute cells, thusaprovidingian increased fiufiiness and .a:.lighterfinal product.

v The product, whichadhe'res toithe interior of the baking pan during cooling, will not fall and the walls of the cell structure will not collapse. The

term fall or falling is used in the bakery trade to denote the collapse or crushing of the cell wall structure.

While the process of this invention is admirably adapted for cooling sponge and angel cakes, which normally adhere to the walls of the containerin whichthey are baked, it is within the contemplation of the invention to employ the hereindis-.

closed process for cooling any bakery product that will normally adhere to abaking pan or any product which can be caused to adhere to a baking pan. i

Referring now to the drawing and especially to- Fig. 1, where there is disclosed an exploded view of one modification of a complete apparatus for carrying out the process of this invention in which i denotes. a stand having a base 2 and a vertical shaft 3 having an enlarged lower section t and a smaller uppersection 5, an abutment 6 being formed at the junction of the sections 4.

and-5. A conventional baking panl havinga frustO-cOnical center element 8is shown inverted and'in-position to be placed on the stand 5 sov that the terminus 9 of the element 8 will contact and be supported by the abutment 6. After the pan 1 has been placed in'this inverted and substantially vertical position on the stand, there may be" applied to the upper section 5 a centering element l0 having a hole "ll bored therethrough and adapted to telescope over' the upper section 5 of the shaft 3. A cake which has been baked in I pan.

and then passed into the cooling chamber.

the pan 1 may now be cooled while the cake hangs and adheres to the inner surfaces of the Other means of centering the pan 1 on the stand may be employed, as shown in Fig. 2, wherein a hollowed-out portion [2 is provided in the sectionl. The side walls of the portion l2 are tapered to substantially conform with the taper of the element 8 of the pan 1. From this structure, it may be seen that the pan '1 is lowered in an inverted position so that the element 8 fits within the portion [2, thus maintaining the pan 1 in the proper position. Another modification of the centering means is also shown in Fig.2 wherein three or more fingerse I3 are mounted on the section 5. In this arrangement, an abut ment 6 as is shown in Fig. 1 is employed and the pan 1 is placed on the stand and held-in posi-Q tion by fingers l3 caused to contact the inner surfaces of the frusto-conical element 8 by the actionof .coil springs 14. or leaf springs l5.

A continuous process of baking and cooling may be carried out by means of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3 wherein 2| denotes abakingoven and 22 a cooling chamber. A plurality of cake pans 23 are mounted. on acontinuous belt .or conveyor 24 which .passes through the baking oven and is then automatically inverted at- B If it is desirable not to pass the heatedconveyor into the cooling chamber, two or moreconveyors may be provided and suitable means for trans-- Since certain changes in carrying out the above 7 process and in the m ns cooperatin parting from its scope, it is intendedthat all matconstructions set forth, which embody the invention, may be made without def I ter contained in the above description or'shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that-the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein de scribed, and all statements of the scope ofthe invention which, as a matter of language, might be saidto fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim asnewsand desire to-secure by Letters Patent is:* lfAs an article of manufacture, a cake cooler comprising abase portion having asubstantially vertical shaft mounted thereon, said shaft, havmg anenlargedlower section and smaller upper section, the junction of the sectionsproviding an abutment adapted to support an inverted cakefbakine pan of thetyne havin a hollow friistatedtap rin c nter element. 4

2. Azdevioeof' th la vdesorihed; a are bbpiliri for suppor ing an inverted bakin pan of the type having a hollow frustated tapering center ;ele'-,, m nhicomprisins a b s por ion, a su ata. 1 y vertical sha txtend ng upward y th r fr with said shaft and the .11 ternal area of said center element, to .maint n;

the center lem n of thobakins can n a stantially vertical lane. l 3., As an article or manufac ure, 8 -9 cooler pr sin n combi atio aisubstantially yer-.-

i id-j tical member mounted on a base, said. vertical,

memberhaflng an en arged rm t on adaptedto receive; and support an inverted. ca sopa of, the

typehavin a hollow fru tat d t perin oenter element and. means. o per ble wit ai vertical 1 member and the inner portion of the center.-,el.e.-

ment to maintain the center elementof the-cake.

pan in a substantially vertical plane,

NATTSQN. 1 

